Have Manchester United turned another corner? José Mourinho was right when he said they stepped up their game in the second half against Manchester City to take control of the EFL Cup tie, and as they were the only team managing any shots on target he was possibly also correct in claiming they could have won by more than a single goal.
His assertion that beating City gives everyone a better feeling is only partly true, however. Winning a derby is always better than losing but United were playing only City reserves. Pep Guardiola did not exactly make a statement of aggressive intent when naming his side for Old Trafford, and in those circumstances it might be best not to assume that United have fully atoned for the wounding debacle at Chelsea.
Burnley are up next, exactly the sort of hiding-to-nothing fixture recent United managers have come to treat warily. Win, and so what? Sean Dyche's team are new to the Premier League this season, have yet to pick up a single point on their travels, and Manchester United would always be expected to beat Burnley at home anyway. Lose or draw, on the other hand (and Burnley do have a reputation for making life tough for opponents) and United would be back in crisis, having failed to win a league match in the whole of October.
Those are the facts of life for United, perhaps for any top side. “You are going to get criticism if you play for Manchester United and things are not going well,” Juan Mata said. “That’s professional football, and you have to learn to deal with it. After a defeat, everyone is going to speak bad about the team and about the manager. We as a group need to stay strong and believe we can do great things together.”
Formless and forgettable
Whatever the level and motivation of their opponents, United at least made a start in that direction against City. The first half was as formless and forgettable as only early rounds of the League Cup can be, though when Mourinho asked for more application and penetration after the interval he got a response. United upped the tempo and stopped looking like an expensive collection of disparate individuals, beginning to play like a team of players aware of each other’s strengths.
“In those kind of games the early minutes are always difficult to manage,” Mata said. “Everyone is under pressure, they can feel the tension, no one wants to make a mistake. But we started very well in the second half and after one or two balls you start to feel better.
“We played some good football, created a few chances and that’s why we scored. We had a strong desire to put everything right after Chelsea, but we need to continue in that way, we need to do it in every single game because no opponents are going to make it easy for us.”
Premier League opponents generally do not, though with Burnley and Swansea sandwiching the away fixture against Fenerbahce in the next couple of weeks United have a little breathing space after fixtures against Liverpool, Chelsea and City. They will need it, because after that the rivalry with London resumes with the visit of Arsenal and two games against West Ham, all at Old Trafford.
Mourinho was unhappy with the amount of time television scheduling left him between the big games in October, though in the end, with a point at Anfield and progress in the EFL Cup at City’s expense, he did not come out of it too badly. Losing at Stamford Bridge is something United supporters have come to accept over the years; it was the manner of the latest defeat, with the suggestion that a Mourinho side was ill-prepared and poorly organised, that came as a surprise.
Freer role
United set themselves up a little differently in their last match, with Michael Carrick replacing Marouane Fellaini in midfield to leave Paul Pogba a freer role, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic dropping a little deeper than usual as the central member of the front three.
Previously the Swede has played on his own as the point of attack but against City he was level and at times behind Marcus Rashford and Mata. If Rashford in particular had accepted all of the openings that came his way United's win might have been more emphatic, though at least he has made it back to the starting line-up and his understanding with Ibrahimovic can only improve with time.
It is likely Mourinho will find himself fielding questions on the whereabouts of Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all the way until the next transfer window, but a front three of Rashford, Ibrahimovic and Mata actually offers a good mix of pace, experience and creativity, with Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard available as back up. With the Rooney era looking to be over, United might not have turned a corner so much as turned a page. Guardian Service
